Chef's Table

[lynn2002]

I have booked the Chef's Table for the formal night.  For medical reasons I cannot drink much alcohol (maybe one glass with the meal) but note that a wine is recommended for each course of the meal.  Is it okay to just have the one glass of wine or is it part of the experience that we have the recommended wine with each course?  If that is the case I will have to cancel.

[Selbourne]

Which ship? Chefs Table means different things on different ships. On Aurora, it’s an officer hosted fine dining event, for a dozen or so people, at a cost of around £75 per person. This includes the cost of paired wines with each course. On Arvia and Iona it’s a sectioned off area of the buffet where the main dining room formal menu is provided. It was created to alleviate pressure in the main dining rooms (Arvia, in particular, doesn’t have enough capacity in the main dining rooms for all those who wish to dine there on formal nights). As a result it’s no cost and the wines are just recommended, but not included, so in reality it’s no different to the main dining rooms in that you can have some, all or none of the wines and pay for those that you have. 

Edited May 3 by Selbourne

[lynn2002]

Thank you.  Its the Iona and there's no fee.

[Waju]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Which ship? Chefs Table means different things on different ships. On Aurora, it’s an officer hosted fine dining event, for a dozen or so people, at a cost of around £75 per person. This includes the cost of paired wines with each course. On Arvia and Iona it’s a sectioned off area of the buffet where the main dining room formal menu is provided. It was created to alleviate pressure in the main dining rooms (Arvia, in particular, doesn’t have enough capacity in the main dining rooms for all those who wish to dine there on formal nights). As a result it’s no cost and the wines are just recommended, but not included, so in reality it’s no different to the main dining rooms in that you can have some, all or none of the wines and pay for those that you have. 

I've booked the Chefs Table for our up and coming cruise on Arvia thinking I was getting something special 😇 Do you think we'd be better sticking with the MDR Selbourne?

 

 

[TigerB]

1 hour ago, Waju said:

I've booked the Chefs Table for our up and coming cruise on Arvia thinking I was getting something special 😇 Do you think we'd be better sticking with the MDR Selbourne?

 

 

 

I know what his answer will be, same as mine:  YES!

 

Some folk like it, but many more don't.  We've done it just the once, and won't bother again.

But if you like getting dressed up to eat in a canteen, where you are right on top of your neighbouring table, then go for it!😉

[Waju]

29 minutes ago, TigerB said:

 

I know what his answer will be, same as mine:  YES!

 

Some folk like it, but many more don't.  We've done it just the once, and won't bother again.

But if you like getting dressed up to eat in a canteen, where you are right on top of your neighbouring table, then go for it!😉

Thank you TigerB.  I thought it was too good to be true - there were reservations left and at no charge 🤣 I’ll check with our friends tomorrow and see if they want to cancel 

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Waju said:

I've booked the Chefs Table for our up and coming cruise on Arvia thinking I was getting something special 😇 Do you think we'd be better sticking with the MDR Selbourne?

 

 

It didn’t appeal to us, so we didn’t book it when we were on Iona I’m afraid. I believe that there may be some small additions to the menu over the MDR, but we avoid the buffet like the plague and a tablecloth wasn’t enough to make us change that stance 😂. We prefer the ambiance, table configuration and seating in the MDRs, especially if we are going to the trouble of dressing up in our finery for a formal night.
 

It does come with one advantage though, the fact that you have a guaranteed dining time which, if you dine later (as we do), can apparently be a challenge on Arvia. There are no options to book tables in the MDR other than very early (far too early for us) and quite a few people have reported long waits for tables on Arvia as it has less MDR capacity than Iona. If we were on a 2 week Arvia cruise I’d give it a go, just to see what it’s like. 

[Harryjacobs]

Did the Chefs Table on Iona but once was enough.  As TigerB has said  you are all dressed up but in a works canteen.   Very bizarre vibe.

We went to MDR for our other 2 Iona trips and it felt much better. 

Regarding wine, there is no need to buy wine if you don't want it.  We just have water 

[Eddie99]

Agree about the Chef’s Table

The only advantage is that you get the guaranteed time

[Bazrat]

14 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

I know what his answer will be, same as mine:  YES!

 

Some folk like it, but many more don't.  We've done it just the once, and won't bother again.

But if you like getting dressed up to eat in a canteen, where you are right on top of your neighbouring table, then go for it!😉

I wish our works canteen was like the buffet onboard

[Camberley]

Some love it and we wished we did. Once should have been enough for us but we tried again a few cruises later (still Iona) just in case we had an off night. But now we have learned! The (pretty much the same) menu itself each time was very good (on paper!) but the execution of most of our dishes barely rose above adequate. It was a chaotic, fairly rushed affair, in pretty grim surroundings, adding up to being culinary meh and an experience so far removed from the celebratory event it was trying to be. Such an anticlimax but it might be better on the smaller ships.

Edited May 4 by Camberley

[Selbourne]

10 minutes ago, Camberley said:

Such an anticlimax but it might be better on the smaller ships.

Thankfully they don’t need to do it on the smaller ships as the MDRs have enough capacity to accommodate all those who wish to dine there on formal nights. 

[Ardennais]

We did the Chef’s Table on Iona last Sunday. Don’t be put off by the disparaging ‘works canteen’ comments. Our meal was lovely - the food is exactly the same. Great atmosphere there - fun, relaxed, unstuffy.  Light and airy - we were right by the window and it was lovely. I don’t drink alcohol either so not a problem. 

[Selbourne]

3 hours ago, Ardennais said:

We did the Chef’s Table on Iona last Sunday. Don’t be put off by the disparaging ‘works canteen’ comments. Our meal was lovely - the food is exactly the same. Great atmosphere there - fun, relaxed, unstuffy.  Light and airy - we were right by the window and it was lovely. I don’t drink alcohol either so not a problem. 

Do you still have to adhere to the formal dress code or do they relax it as it’s in the buffet? I could see the attraction if the dress code doesn’t apply. 

[Harryjacobs]

34 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Do you still have to adhere to the formal dress code or do they relax it as it’s in the buffet? I could see the attraction if the dress code doesn’t apply. 

Yes formal attire is still required.   It's what makes it bizarre in my opinion as we sat on those bench like seats in tuxedo feeling a little low key

Edited May 4 by Harryjacobs
Grammer

[gsjnd]

On 5/4/2024 at 10:26 AM, Ardennais said:

We did the Chef’s Table on Iona last Sunday. Don’t be put off by the disparaging ‘works canteen’ comments. Our meal was lovely - the food is exactly the same. Great atmosphere there - fun, relaxed, unstuffy.  Light and airy - we were right by the window and it was lovely. I don’t drink alcohol either so not a problem. 

I agree totally with your post. We did the Chef's Table on the Iona in March and easily the best meal and service we had on the cruise.

[Ardennais]

On 5/4/2024 at 1:51 PM, Selbourne said:

Do you still have to adhere to the formal dress code or do they relax it as it’s in the buffet? I could see the attraction if the dress code doesn’t apply. 

Jacket and tie on arrival. Jackets were then taken off quickly. Food tastes exactly the same!